


Each Year Goes By

by Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee



Series: A Curious Collection of Sladiver Oneshots [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 21:45:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17251943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee/pseuds/Books_and_Cats_and_Coffee
Summary: On most occasions, Slade found little joy in the new year.





	Each Year Goes By

It was the closest thing the prison guards got to vacation while on duty. Even through the closed doors, Slade could hear the loud voices. They weren’t completely lax, every so often, one of them would make a round of the cells, making sure all the prisoners were accounted for. Trapped in such a repetitive job, isolated from their families and community, in some ways, there was little to differentiate the guards from the prisoners, and they took advantage of what little pleasures they could.

For Slade, and whatever others were prisoners in those plain, underground cells, it was just another day. The new year would be no different than the last, there was no reason to celebrate it. Lying in his hard cot, hands behind his head, Slade stared upward at the cement ceiling. He tried to detach from these things, thinking about them just made it worse. He never thought he’d miss anything about the Mirakuru, but at least the serum’s hallucination had given him company during such long hours.

Another bout of noise came from the guards, and faintly, Slade heard them start a countdown. He lay in silence, listening to the numbers without much feeling. They reached one, and a loud cheer went up, marking the beginning of the new year. Within the next few minutes, a guard would be sent on his rounds. The same rounds he had walked the last year. Maybe it was the island itself, it never changed. And yet, despite it all, Slade found himself speaking aloud, the four words standing out against the quiet.

“Happy New Year, kid,” and rolling over, he went to sleep.

**xXxXx**

The situation carried a sense of déjà vu. Except for this time, Slade wasn’t in a prison, but a low rated motel halfway across the world, tracking down leads on his son. But once again, he was alone, listening to the noise of a party downstairs. And once again he felt no excitement about the new year. It only served to remind him how fast time was passing, and how short an amount of time he likely had left.

A lot had changed, and Slade refused to give into the past. He and Oliver had split ways months earlier, saying their goodbyes in Kasnia. He wouldn’t see Oliver again. Someone might have argued it was a foolish thing to say, after all, he couldn’t read the future. But deep down, it made sense. Their lives had crossed, and now, there was nothing else to be done. There was no further reason for them to interact. Time brought change, and Slade accepted that.  

But, as he sat alone in the cheap apartment, even that didn’t stop him from glancing down at his phone, watching the date for a different time zone change and saying, for what might be the last time;

“Happy New Year, kid.”

**xXxXx**

William was ecstatic about the holiday. He hadn’t slept in almost thirty-six hours and Oliver just knew he was going to crash soon. The living room was stuffed full of people, many of them holding champagne glasses with Quentin shepherding William and Zoe away whenever they snuck over to bottle. At some point, Oliver had quietly slipped out of the room, wanting just a few seconds of quiet.

He stood on the balcony, breathing in the cold air, feeling as though his head was clear for the first time in ages. The whole team plus a couple others had come together for the holiday. Everything was perfect, or damn near it, and Oliver had no reason to wish for anything more. Except…

There was something missing. And no matter how much he looked back and saw Felicity waving over at him or William laughing or one of the others joking around, he couldn’t deny that. He was happy, but there was also a bittersweet tinge to that happiness.

It was dumb, _he_ was gone, looking for his sons, enjoying a second shot at the life that Oliver had helped to ruin. And that new life didn’t cross paths with the Star City vigilante. He was probably wrapped up in his work at that moment; and it wasn’t worth thinking about. Even so, as the excited jumble of a countdown started inside, Oliver felt himself still hesitating on the balcony, hand resting on the handle. There was an explosion of noise, and he smiled as he heard William shout above the others. Opening the door, he paused for just a moment.

“Happy New Year, Slade.”

And with that, he walked in to rejoin his family.


End file.
